New theater company presents Shakespeare as you've never seen him

Thursday

May 2, 2013 at 12:35 AM

Linda Sickler @LindaSickler

Savannah's newest theater company is presenting the first feature show of its inaugural season.

"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged" by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield is being staged by the Savannah Stage Company. Four performances remain, on May 3, 4 and 5 at the Black Box at S.P.A.C.E.

In the play, three actors - Hai Dang, Jeroy Hannah and Brandon Mahaffey - parody all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets in less than two hours. The production is being directed by Bryan Pridgen.

"One of our big things we love to do with theater is use extreme theatricality," Pridgen says. "We're not into glitz, glamour or spectacle; we're more about storytelling," he says. "We use props in 10 different ways to create different settings. This play offers lots of opportunity for theatricality."

The play is funny for everyone, from people who love Shakespeare to people who hate Shakespeare, Pridgen says. "It's been so much fun getting to explore the complete works," he says.

"As theater professionals, we get to work with that language. It's so tongue-in-cheek, making fun of it while at the same time honoring it."

Shakespeare slapstick? In this production, you bet.

"We've definitely taken our own liberties with it," Pridgen says. "We're honoring the words, we're honoring the text, we're not taking out the comedy, but we're not doing something for a cheap laugh. We want to leave people excited to go read Shakespeare."

The company has a mission - to show audiences how much fun Shakespeare can be. "If one person comes and sees the show who's never seen or heard Shakespeare and enjoys themselves and wants to learn more, I feel we've done our job," Pridgen says. "That's our goal as a theater."

The three actors have their hands full. Hannah plays all the female roles. "He's having a lot of fun," Pridgen says.

Putting on a first show has had its challenges. "It feels like such an impossible task," Pridgen says.

"This show is pretty good in terms of costumes and props. What's been the most difficult is that it's our first feature production.

"We don't have a set, we don't have things to pull from," Pridgen says. "What's been most difficult is not having a base to start with, but we're setting up a base for the future. It's challenging but exciting at the same time."

While this is Savannah Stage Company's first feature production, it has been presenting theater for young audiences. "We've done things for the YMCA, and we've also performed for a few of the retirement centers," Pridgen says.

"Our company recently did spring break camps with the city's Cultural Affairs Department," he says. "We've got to have a lot of educational initiatives in addition to feature productions in order to build and grow."

The five founding members of the Savannah Stage Company all met at professional theaters in Virginia. "We were looking at places that needed more professional theater," Pridgen says.

"Savannah has so many resources in terms of the arts," he says. "Theater is one area we felt Savannah could use more of. We're working with the other theater companies in Savannah and are very excited.

"We officially started last summer in terms of organizing and having meetings," Pridgen says. "We started doing 'Rip Van Winkle,' which our company wrote."

Another feature production will be presented in the fall. "We're going to do 'Turn of the Screw' right about Halloween," Pridgen says.

Now the company is presenting its first feature production, which Pridgen says is sure to make audiences laugh. "If you are looking to have a good time, if you are looking to enjoy a good story, this one is for you," he says.

"The reason we still do theater, all those reasons are in this play. The costume changes, lighting effects, sound effects, all are used in special ways to tell the story.

"We give a great value for what we've got," Pridgen says. "We're constantly trying to give audiences something worthy of their attention 100 percent of the time."

IF YOU GO

What: The Savannah Stage Company presents "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged" by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield

When: 8 p.m. May 3 and 4; 2 p.m. May 4 and 5

Where: Black Box Theatre at S.P.A.C.E., 9 W. Henry St.

Cost: Adults, $28-$32; senior/military, $24-$28; students, $10

Info: For reservations, call 912-341-6496 or go to completeworksabridged.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets also will be available at the door.